WE WERE FIRST AT THE SCENE: RapidKL bus plunges off flyover

SPEEDING? The bus crash at Jalan Pantai Baru attracted bystanders who stopped along the roadside to look

SIX bus passengers suffered serious injuries after a RapidKL bus plunged off a flyover ramp and crashed onto the motorcycle lane at the Kerinchi - Pantai Baru interchange yesterday.

The 1.20pm accident involved a Proton Satria and a U80 RapidKL bus, which was plying the Shah Alam-KL Sentral route. The bus was carrying 27 passengers at the time. In all 29 people were involved; the bus passengers, its driver and the driver of the car.

Prior to the crash, both the bus and the car were in a duel, racing side-by-side up the exit ramp. The bus driver lost control of his vehicle after overtaking the car and was unable to stop the bus from crashing into the road barrier and plunging off the ramp.

The Proton Satria crashed into a lamp post. There were large graze marks on the side of the car, which indicated that the bus collided with the car before the plunge.

"The bus tried to cut into my lane from the right and was going very fast," Proton Satria driver Nabil Fikri Arshad, 24, told Malay Mail.

He escaped from the crash unscathed. He was on his way back to his home in Pantai Dalam.

lookINJURED: Yusri was allegedly speeding before he lost control of the bus

Bus driver Yusri Othman claimed that he was intimidated by the driver of the Proton Satria.

"He refused to allow me to overtake him, and kept on speeding. I needed to get to the left lane and my signal lights were flashing to indicate that I intended to go left."

Yusri suffered a cut near his eyes. One of the passengers, K. Vignes, 28, was on his way back to Kuala Lumpur with his father N. Kanaiah after settling their assessment taxes.

Both suffered cuts to their heads and were bleeding profusely over their faces. Kanaiah also injured his foot and had to be carried to the ambulance.

"The bus was travelling very fast," said Vignes, who was still in a state of shock when met. "But, from where we were seated we could not really see what happened. In just a flash, the bus plunged."

Emergency medical officers from University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) arrived on the scene, providing on-the-spot treatment before the victims were sent to the nearby hospital. Fire Department officers inspected the bus to ensure there was no leakage that might trigger a fire or explosion.

UMMC staff yesterday confirmed that three injured passengers were undergoing surgery after sustaining serious injuries.

Brickfields district police chief ACP Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said the bus driver would be investigated for careless and inconsiderate driving.

Click